Chance to change admissions policy

Leeds City Council is consulting over whether to change the rules for children applying for a school place where their elder brother or sister attends.

Ensuring siblings attend the same school is one of the top criteria in deciding admissions. Younger siblings of a child at a primary school are currently given a higher priority than those applying who live close to it when the council is allocating places.

However there are concerns this can give advantage to children who do not live near the school they are applying for.

The consultation document says: “It is possible that in a small number of cases siblings from further away may gain places ahead of those living nearer to the school. It is therefore appropriate to consider whether a change to the policy is required.”

The council could change this to give priority to children with older siblings “and for whom it is their nearest school.” The consultation runs until Friday.